City Commission Meeting
Valley City, North Dakota
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
President Carlsrud called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM.
Members present: President Carlsrud, Commissioner Bishop, Commissioner Gulmon via Zoom, Commissioner Erickson
Others: City Administrator Crawford, City Attorney Martineck, Finance Director Klein, Administrative Assistant Hintz.
Members Absent: Commissioner Magnuson
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
PROCLAMATION
The week of January 28 through February 3, 2024, was proclaimed as Catholic Schools Week.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Remove the Public Hearing regarding Ordinance Violations by the Captain’s Pub.
Remove Item B. on the Consent Agenda, Tree Trimming & Removal License Application for Strom Tree Service Inc.
Commissioner Bishop moved to approve the changes, seconded by Commissioner Erickson. Motion passed unanimously.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Commissioner Bishop moved to Approve the Minutes from the January 4, 2024, Finance and Commission Meetings, seconded by Commissioner Erickson. Motion passed unanimously.
APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA
Approve Local Permit Application for a Raffle for Sanford Clinic of Valley City on February 2, 2024, at Valley City Town & Country Club.
Approve Application for Use of National Guard Building. Schindler Events. Mar 7 – 10, 2024.
Commissioner Erickson moved to approve the Consent Agenda, seconded by Commissioner Bishop. Motion passed unanimously.
RESOLUTION
RES 2438 A Resolution Regarding Participation in Funding for a Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Grant Project. Grubb, project manager with AE2S discussed the Grant provided by the Bureau of Reclamation and shared that it is geared towards Energy & Water Sustainability. A very common application under this grant program is Water Meter Improvements. Working with the Team here in Valley City they determined that a project to replace 600 Water Nodes would be a good candidate for this grant and assist Valley City in the funding of the replacements with 50% cost share funding. The total cost estimate for the project is $101,304.
Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Erickson. Motion passed unanimously.
RES 2439 A Resolution Creating Paving Improvement District No. 129. City Engineer Petersen explained that this project is a combination of project corridors that were sealed in the past 7 to 10 years that have been over laid or reconstructed. All projects on the map except the 6th St Project and the 5th Ave NW Project are identified as Projects that would not be Special Assessed.
Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon. Motion passed unanimously.
ORDINANCE
ORD 1147 Approved First Reading of Ordinance 1147, an Ordinance to Amend and Reenact Sections 12-02-02. 12-02-03, 12-02-06, and 12-02-08 Related to Junk. Junk Vehicles and Abandoned Vehicles on Public Property. City Attorney Martineck shared that this Ordinance will not change the process for junk vehicles on private property but adds a provision if a vehicle is red tagged for being a junk vehicle or an unregistered vehicle on the public right of way or public parking lot. There would now be some enforcement and the vehicle can be ticketed or towed if the issue is not taken care of.
Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon. Motion passed unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS
Approve Task Order Master Services Agreement with AE2S. Approve the master service task order agreement between the City of Valley City and the Engineering firm AE2S.
Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon. Motion passed unanimously.
Approve Task Order No. 1 – Valley City General Engineering Services with AE2S. Grubb shared that this is for Instrumentation & Controls work needed as well as other items at the Water Treatment Plant. This is not an exclusive Agreement. It is for $5000 per year for 3 years but the City will only be billed for what is actually used.
Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Erickson. Motion passed unanimously.
Approve Task Order No. 2 – Valley City WaterSMART Grant Application with AE2S. Grubb explained that this Task Order is for the more specific effort of the Grant Application process that was approved with Resolution 2438. With this order the City will now have the template and editable form to pursue future grants.
Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Erickson. Motion passed unanimously.
Consider the Visitor’s Committee Recommendation to Approve the Image Enhancement Grant for Arc of Barnes County Thrift E Shop up to $7500. The Visitor’s Committee recommends approval of this Grant. These funds come through sales tax dollars collected.
Commissioner Erickson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop. Motion passed unanimously.
Approve Depositories for City Funds which meet the Pledge of Securities Requirement.
Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Erickson. Motion passed unanimously.
Approve Amendment to City Engineering Agreement and Task Order. City Engineer Petersen explained that this Agreement & Task Order is for the City Engineering Agreement between the City of Valley City and KLJ Engineering. This is to extend the 3-year term that expired on the previous agreement on 12.31.2023. This amendment is to extend the agreement for an additional 3 years to 1.1.2027.This does include an increase from $87,000. to $90,000. per year. This is a “not to exceed” amount.The agreement also includes Moore Engineering as a subcontractor.
Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.
Roll Call Vote: Bishop – Aye, Gulmon – Aye, Erickson – Nay, Carlsrud – Aye, Motion Approved.
Accept Main Street Outlet Vault Project. City Engineer Petersen shared that this is the Storm Sewer Discharge Vault on Main Street down by the Elks building. Work was completed in the September timeframe but just had the final closeout and inspection with Public Works.
Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon. Motion passed unanimously.
Discussion on the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality – Water Service Line Inventory. City Engineer Eslinger explained this project has three components: historical records revue, customer survey and a sample site plan. He handed out a flyer and postcard sample that will be sent to the residents of Valley City explaining that there is a Water Site Inventory Revue happening. This Survey will be starting in February and will require a response by Valley City Residents about what their water lines are made of. Education of Residents about the survey will be very important.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
City Administrator Crawford gave an update on the Ice Storm Disaster Declaration and that the City is working feverishly at collecting the proper paperwork which is due 1.17.2024. David Wick has reached out and reported that he was not aware of the notifications for some of the properties and that he is working on getting that cleaned up. He will be working with Fire Chief Magnuson. Currently there are several projects that the City is working on in preparation for this summer. On the RFQ preliminary piece we are interviewing the three finalists to select the architect for the Public Service Center.
Commissioner Bishop explained that when he receives an anonymous letter in the mail it goes straight to the shredder. If you sign your letter, he would be more then willing to sit down and discuss your concerns.
Mayor Carlsrud thanked all the city employees for their work during the Ice Storm. He was complimented by a colleague on how well the City of Valley City handled the Storm. Reminder, during these cold spells, try not run extra appliances and to be mindful during peak electrical usage times.
ADJOURN
Meeting was adjourned at 5:53 P.M.